Three Years On: How War Has Reshaped Every Aspect of Life in Gaza

Three years after Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave has been altered so profoundly that little of its former daily reality remains. The sustained aerial bombardment and ground operations have leveled entire neighborhoods, crippled essential infrastructure, and left the territory's roughly two million residents grappling with conditions that humanitarian agencies describe as unprecedented in scope and severity.

The human cost continues to mount. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, more than 74,245 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. Although a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, it has failed to halt the violence. The ministry reports that 1,462 Palestinians have been killed since that agreement took effect, with Israeli attacks and other military operations persisting across the Strip. For many families, the announcement of a truce brought little more than a change in terminology rather than a genuine reprieve.

The war has not merely disrupted lives; it has dismantled the basic architecture of everyday existence. A home, running water, electricity, and reliable transportation—elements once taken for granted—are now unavailable to vast segments of the population. In September, the United Nations estimated that 94 percent of Gaza's residents remained in urgent need of shelter and basic household assistance. Approximately 65 percent of households were living in tents or makeshift structures that offer minimal protection from the elements, having been displaced by military strikes or forced evacuation orders.

The shortages extend well beyond shelter. Many families lack adequate bedding, lighting, kitchen equipment, and sanitation facilities, according to UN assessments. Water access has deteriorated sharply: 91 percent of assessed households reported moderate-to-high water insecurity in early August, up from 84 percent in June. Electricity remains similarly unreliable, with Gaza's grid nonfunctional and households and essential services forced to depend on generators—along with increasingly scarce fuel, engine oil, and spare parts. Damaged roads and communications networks have compounded the difficulty of obtaining transport, phone and internet access, and basic services.

Daily life has consequently been reorganized around the imperative of survival. Collecting water, charging a phone, cooking a meal, washing, and traveling between service points all demand resources and planning that were once unnecessary—turning routine tasks into consuming logistical challenges.

Gaza's economy has been equally devastated. In September, the UN Conference on Trade and Development estimated that 92 percent of the territory's economic establishments had been damaged or destroyed since October 2023, while unemployment had climbed to 78 percent. GDP per capita stood at just $212 in 2025, roughly 17 percent of its 2022 level. Agriculture and industry were each operating at only 6 percent of their 2022 output, and construction had collapsed to 1 percent.

The economic unraveling has made basic goods increasingly unaffordable. Restrictions on the movement of goods—most of which historically passed through Israeli-controlled crossings—have deepened the damage. In September, prices remained approximately 200 percent above pre-October 2023 levels, according to the UN. As jobs and incomes have vanished, economic activity has increasingly centered on aid distribution, debt, and small-scale informal work.

Economic researcher Rami al-Zaygh told Al Jazeera that the war had "pushed society back decades," reviving old professions and creating new types of work that rely on basic tools and whatever resources are at hand. Many families now depend on cash assistance from humanitarian organizations. Physical currency has become increasingly scarce, pushing people toward digital payments and e-wallets as substitutes.

Education has suffered a similarly catastrophic blow. For nearly three years, hundreds of thousands of children have had no regular access to in-person schooling. Schools have been damaged or destroyed, and many of those still standing are being used as shelters for displaced families. UNICEF estimates that nearly 98 percent of schools have been damaged or destroyed. As of April 2026, around 700,000 children between the ages of 4 and 17 had missed almost three consecutive years of in-person education—a gap with consequences that will likely reverberate for a generation.

The collapse of healthcare, meanwhile, has compounded the suffering caused by injury, disease, and malnutrition. With infrastructure shattered and medical supplies severely limited, hospitals and clinics have struggled to function under conditions that aid organizations describe as beyond crisis levels.

The cumulative effect of these losses is a society whose foundations have been eroded across every dimension—economic, educational, medical, and social. The war has not only changed where Palestinians live but how they carry out the most ordinary parts of daily life, transforming a functioning if besieged society into one where survival itself requires constant negotiation.

International observers warn that the scale of destruction will require years, if not decades, of reconstruction—assuming conditions ever permit it. The UN has previously estimated that Gaza's recovery needs could reach tens of billions of dollars, a figure that continues to rise as the conflict persists and damage accumulates.

For now, Gaza's population remains trapped in a cycle of displacement, deprivation, and uncertainty. The ceasefire announced in October 2025 has not delivered the stability it promised, and the humanitarian crisis shows no sign of abating. Three years into the war, the question facing Gaza is not merely how to rebuild, but whether the conditions for rebuilding will ever materialize.